Professors Soulet and Sussman from the United States have published a critical review of a study claiming to have discovered toxic risks of heavy metals in e-cigarette vapor. Both professors are recognized as leading experts in e-cigarette research.
Their research indicates that teams identifying potential toxic risks use poor research methods, leading to inaccuracies resulting in a disconnect between the actual harm of electronic cigarettes in the real world or an overestimation of exposure levels.
Heavy metals can accumulate in soft tissues of the body and cause toxicity. Many of them are essential for proper bodily function in small amounts, but when they build up they can become hazardous.
The primary metals that have garnered attention include aluminum, antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lithium, manganese, mercury, nickel, and zinc.
In 2015, Planet of the Vapes reported on Dr. Farsalinos' first analysis of metal content in e-cigarettes. He emphasized how the negative results were obtained through inferential data, therefore not reflecting the daily use of e-cigarettes.
Two years later, the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in the United States claimed to have found five heavy metals in vapor, and they repeated this claim the following year. This topic has become a favorite among anti-e-cigarette scholars.
Their discovery led to press releases, media briefings, and ongoing negative media coverage, with many people believing that these reports went against facts and common sense.
In 2019, a news report about a study on heavy metals found in nicotine products failed to mention that the samples were not electronic cigarette oil or electronic cigarette products. The press release and story obscured the fact that the results came from legally prescribed smoking cessation drugs, syrups, suspensions, and gum!
The name of the organization responsible for a majority of the output offers a clue as to why it is so negative: the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.
Professors Soulet and Sussman focused their research on the 36 studies published in 2018 that assessed the levels of toxic heavy metals in electronic cigarette vapor.
They commented, "We found serious methodological flaws in all studies reporting high metal contents (such as nickel, lead, chromium, and manganese) that exceed toxicological markers.
The researchers identified a significant flaw in the suction protocol utilized, specifically regarding how the machine extracts vapor from e-cigarettes. This includes factors such as frequency, duration, the type of liquid utilized, and the wattage of the device settings.
As Dr. Farsalinos discovered many years ago, these vaping protocols cannot replicate the way in which e-cigarette users inhale vapor, resulting in an extreme and overwhelming experience that can be difficult to handle.
After reviewing these studies, Professors Soulet and Sussman suggest that researchers adopt a standardized vaping protocol, which can replicate the real-world use of electronic cigarettes.
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